Police Firearms: West Coast Majors

BlueSheepDog has received a few requests from our readers asking about what firearms different police agencies have selected for their officers. These requests have not gone unheard, and we have been diligently researching the answers to your questions. In this new series, “Police Firearms”, BSD will examine what America’s law enforcement officers are carrying on duty and perhaps why those firearms were selected.

The selection of a firearm is no small decision. The size, weight, capacity, and accuracy are all serious considerations to make when your life and the life of others are on the line. In the early years it was not uncommon for officers to have to purchase their own firearms, so the type and model carried varied widely.

By around the mid 20th century many major police agencies had determined it was safer, more cost-effective, and generally easier to purchase and issue officers a specific (or narrow list) of firearms to carry on duty. This allowed Department Armorers and Firearms Trainers to master only a few firearms. It also allowed Departments to select calibers to meet their needs and reduce the cost of trying to provide multiple types of ammunition to its officers.

The Glock 17 is one of world’s most popular handguns. Glock claims a 65% market of American LE pistols (photo Glock).

West Coast Handguns

In this first post of the series we will look at the West Coast police agencies and what they are issuing or allowing officers to carry. For the purpose of garnering a greater understanding of what “most” officers are carrying, we will evaluate what officers are carrying in jurisdictions with 250,000 or more citizens. Though this won’t capture many fine cities and agencies, we want to keep the length of the articles reasonable, while trying to capture the largest amount of firearms in police hands.

Our biggest cities only make up a handful of the possible police agencies to investigate, but with the sheer numbers of officers employed they often can capture the greatest image as well. The bigger departments also tend to have an influence on smaller agencies selections. We apologize in advance if the city you were looking for is not included, but this will at least give a good insight into what the big agencies consider a good handgun.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Multiple sources were examined to verify the current firearm selections of the agencies highlighted. Some agencies authorize officers to carry only certain firearms off-duty, and some allow officers to choose compact or sub-compact models for detective or special operations work. Some agencies still allow revolvers under strict requirements. In order to maintain consistency, the firearms listed are the primary firearms used for on-duty, uniformed personnel.

This is the first installment of the new series “Police Firearms”. This post covers the “West Coast Majors”, and if your wondering why it doesn’t include California it is because California is going to be an article all on its own. The States of Texas, Florida, and New York will also get their own post due to the large numbers of “major” police agencies calling them home.

I have tried to locate as much relevant and current information on the firearms being used by these departments. If you see an error, or can provide information on the “unknown” or “Not listed/found” items, please post them in the comments and I’ll update the post. Let us know if this article series interests you.

Aaron is a sergeant with a midwestern police department, where he serves as a trainer, supervisor and SWAT sniper. In addition to his broad tactical knowledge, Aaron has experience in DUI, DRE and undercover narcotics investigations.

Comments

Thinker that is a great idea, but in doing my research I was finding it very hard just to locate the firearms used. Many of the policies, websites, etc. were generic, such as “quality hollow-point ammunition” and perhaps a bullet weight range, instead of the specific manufacturer.

As I go forward I’ll try to pull that information, and if available I’ll definitely include it in the post. Thanks for reading!

In my experience, many departments base the ammo selection on what’s cheapest when they go to purchase. Some departments have higher standards than price, but many do not. So ammo can literally change brands, bullet design or bullet weight with every purchase order. Sad but true.